GUNS Magazine October 2010

$70 #43 00 Remington’s Sporting .410. igarillo-sized shells and little .410 bores have fascinated me over C a lifetime of hunting and shooting. With its dinky payloads of shot, the .410 is controversial, of course, and its very mention during a gathering of shotgunners is about as good a way to stir up a heated debate on shotgun performance and efficiency as I know. Yet, this mild mannered little shell has been the introduction for hundreds of thousands, nay, millions, of novices to the shotgun sports. LiTTLE BoRE SUpREME T HE T RIPLE T HREAT A holster designed with belt slots configured to wear in three different positions. Choose from strong side, crossdraw, or behind the back. Fits 1 3/4” belt or smaller. Absolute flexibility! Available in a Havana Brown, plain finish. See your local dealer or visit us on the web to see our full line of quality products. Also check out these new holsters, the Judge & the Ruger® Hunter HI-VIZ® 22/45 Premium quality at affordable prices. 619-232-2066 • www.triplek.com More experienced peg at 25 to 30 yards on shooters are savvy enough smaller game and birds, to fully appreciate the .410’s the .410 will produce qualities and limitations. A similar size patterns to a .410 with a properly choked 12-gauge choke-for-choke. barrel is lightweight, a joy The patterns from the .410 to carry in upland covers will be thinner, of course, for rabbits and small birds theSporting410 because of the lighter shot over point and a challenging comeswithfactorycharges. master on the skeet field. upgradedwalnut There is one caveat to And for an afternoon of (above).Remington’s the equivalent size pattern family fun, I can’t think of Sporting1100.410 rule, and it is rather unique a better combination than a isamongthemodern to the .410. Pushing 1/2 to carton of hand-tossed clays smallboresoffering 3/4 ounce of shot down screw-inchoketubes and a .410 shotgun. a .410 tube results in an Today’s .410 is not (below),increasingits unusually large number of yesterday’s .410. What usefulnessafield. slightly deformed pellets. crimped the .410’s reputation The advent of plastic shot for many years were the wads did wonders for the lack of advances in both patterning qualities of the ammunition and shotguns. .410, but shot deformation, The .410 shell is noted for especially with the long some rather special and shot columns inherent with distinct characteristics. First, the 11/16- and 3/4-ounce it operates at unusually payloads in the 3" case, higher pressures. The pellet deformation occurs. maximum chamber pressure Compared to those of permissible in the standard the 12-gauge, .410 patterns, 12-gauge, 3" Magnum shell is 11,500 at 20 to 30 yards using the same size psi. In the 2-1/2" .410 shell, pressure is shot in both gauges, open up faster and 12,500 psi and in the 3" shell, 13,500 are larger than those of the 12-gauge. psi. Secondly, in spite of its tiny .410 Deformed shot simply spreads out bore (actually a 67 gauge) and its light to the fringes of the pattern quicker. 1/2-, 11/16- and 3/4-ounce payloads, Loading hard magnum shot in the .410 fired patterns follow the standard rules changes this calculus a bit for the better of chokes for any gauge. as well as shooting 2-1/2" shells with Contrary to urban legends, within their shorter shot strings and higher its effective, efficient range, which I velocities. The most significant improvement Whetherit’ssportingclaysordivingdoves, in .410 guns has been the introduction Remington’s1100Sporting.410putsthesport of screw-in choke tubes. Until recently, backinto“sport.” most standard, single-barrel .410s 8 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • OCTOBER 2010